cruel beauty 3 the third part to cruel beauty
by Darkironprincess17
Summary: the fated trio continue their adventures. This time, Lily, Ciel and Sebastian serve a girl named Lady Raven Penbrook. She's got quite a story to her, and as old enemies come back to torment them, things begin to get tough. Sebastianxoc, CielxOC please r&r
1. Raven

Chapter one: Raven

Lily, Sebastian and Ciel stopped the carriage at a nearby street on the outskirts of London.

"You say it's here?" Ciel asked as they got out of the carriage and looked at the dilapidated old building. It resembled an old rundown factory. It looked like the factory in which Catherine had been murdered. Sebastian didn't really want to go in there.

"Yes, there's no question about it. That cult you hate so much has been acting recently. They kidnapped a girl your age and are now torturing her. She is the one who is trying to summon a demon." Lily confirmed. Ciel's eyes glowed.

"I can't believe those bastards are still at work." He started to walk in, but Lily held him back.

"Where do you think you're going? Don't you remember how you summoned Sebastian? What form was he in?"

"He was a crow."

"Exactly. You, my dear young master, need to find your animal form before you go in there. Besides, have you forgotten you don't need doors anymore?" Lily asked.

"Hmph. I don't suppose you have an animal form?" Ciel asked. In a flash, Lily turned into a pretty ginger cat with emerald green eyes.

"Does that satisfy you?" She asked as she turned back into her human form.

"So what do I need to do?"

"Just concentrate. It should come naturally." She said. Ciel squeezed his eyes shut for a few minutes.

"I got nothing."

"You need to try harder than that, young master." Sebastian said, vaguely amused. Ciel gritted his teeth. There was a small explosion of white smoke, and a bat fluttered into the air. It seemed very uncoordinated and flew around in circles, hovering this way and that, nearly falling. Lily was laughing so hard tears were coming out of her eyes.

"Shut up." Ciel said as he turned back into a person. "Like you would have any better luck with flying. it's not as easy as it looks. A bat, huh? Interesting. Now let's get going."

"Sure, Dracula" She said, laughing. Ciel glared at her. The three of them turned into animals. A crow, a cat and a bat, and slid through the wall. They watched as people in white cloaks hit a girl. They couldn't really see her too well. One whipped her and she cried out in pain.

"What do you want from me?" She hissed. "If it's gold, I'll give you as much as you want."

"Gold is good, girl, but we want something else from you. We want that necklace of darkness that the Marchioness Penbrook had acquired before her death. It's said to give people power beyond imagination."

"I know of no such necklace. It's obviously a myth. Why waste time?"

"You lie!" He struck her again. She hung her head, her hair covering her bangs.

"Death in life, safety in fear, darkness in light" She whispered. Lily, Sebastian and Ciel got transported into a place filled with white feathers.

"What is this place?" Ciel wondered.

"It's the bridge gate. It's the world that connects hell and the human world. Here is the place where all demons and humans sign contracts." Sebastian whispered. The girl appeared moments later. The three of them walked forwards.

_We understand you wish to make a contract. _Lily said.

"I do" There was no hint of hesitation in the girl's silvery blue eyes as she lifted her head.

_However, you must choose wisely. A Faustian Contract between a demon and a human will result in your soul being taken._

"I know that already! I don't care."

_We will be able to grant all of your wishes while we are your servants. Anything you wish, we will try our hardest to make it happen, until the day our contract ends. Make your decision. _Ciel said, flying more steadily in the air but still looking uncoordinated.

"You three will all serve me. My main wish is to get revenge on the people who organized this, and wipe out every last member of this cult there is. They will know what happens to those who humiliate me." _She sounds so much like Ciel it's scary. _Lily thought.

_Very well… we have a deal. The three of us will serve you until your goal is achieved._ Ciel fluttered closer to her. _We have one last part to think about. You need to decide where on your body I will place my mark on you to mark you as mine._

"My hand. I usually wear gloves, so no one will see it."

_As you wish…_

They got jolted back into the present. The room got three times colder as they turned back into their human forms, all of them however now wearing servant's outfits. Lily's maid outfit looked like Hannah's, except it was black and white, not navy and white, and without the stupid neck bow. Ciel was wearing a butler outfit a little like Sebastian's, and he had finally gotten a little taller. All the people wearing cloaks stumbled backwards.

"Your orders, my lady?" Lily asked.

"Kill them all!" The girl yelled.

"Yes, my lady" Lily clicked her fingers and fire raged through the entire room, burning everyone but the four of them to ashes. The girl finally stood up, and they got a good look at her. Ciel stiffened as though an electric shock had run through him.

She was unusual, very unusual. Her hair was so black it had blue tints in it and shone like a raven's wing. It fell almost down to her knees like a waterfall. Her silver eyes were huge and kind, yet the arch of her face made them look strong and proud. She was rather short, and wore the tattered remains of what Lily guessed was once a beautiful black mourning dress. A new mark glowed on her hand. It wasn't Lily's or Sebastian's. It was Ciel's. It looked almost exactly like Sebastian's, except it was a midnight blue color, with designs on the insides that looked like waves.

"May we ask your name, my lady?" Sebastian asked, stepping forwards along with Lily.

"It's Raven. Raven Penbrook"


	2. The manor

Chapter two: The manor

"So where is your house, my lady?"

"It's the Penbrook estate, just a few miles south of where we are now." Lily repeated this to Sebastian who sharply changed courses, executing a wide but easy u-turn. "Demon, what's your name?"

"It's Lily. That's my half cousin Ciel, and the man driving the carriage is my fiancée Sebastian."

"So you are all family, basically?"

"Pretty much"

"Those are nice names. I didn't know demons could have names."

"Usually we don't." Lily mused. "Ciel named Sebastian because they had a contract… I have a name because I was human up until half a year ago, and Ciel was human up until yesterday."

"You can re-name us if you like." Ciel said, leaning against the seat of the carriage just as he would if he was still a noble. Lily, who was sitting beside him, elbowed him to sit up straight.

"No, I like your names. I'll keep them the way they are." Raven said, and smiled. It was a faint smile, but she had an amazing smile just like Ciel. However, Ciel never really smiled, and Lily got the feeling that this girl didn't smile much either. Pretty soon, they pulled up at a nice looking manor.

"Oh, thank goodness they didn't burn it!" Raven let out a sigh of relief. "I thought they would have set the place on fire." Sebastian opened the door. Ciel walked out, and then helped Raven out of the carriage. At least he had enough sense to do that. She guessed that it would be some time before Ciel got used to the fact that he was just a butler. Sebastian helped Lily out of the carriage. They walked inside.

It was every bit as grand as the Phantomhive or the Trancy manors. The walls were a nice cream color with candles hanging everywhere, and nice grey tiled floors. She twirled around.

"It's so nice to be back home." She said.

"It certainly is a nice place."

"Come on! I'll show you your rooms!" Raven ran up the stairs. "My parents always kept four spare rooms for servants, though we only ever had two servants. One butler and a cook. They got killed too…" She said.

"How long ago did this happen?" Lily asked.

"Two years ago. I'd sworn to mourn for two years… my mourning period ended when I was stuck in that place. I don't have to wear all black anymore and cover my face. Well… here we are. This is going to be your room, Lily." She showed her a room. It was rather nice and plain, much to Lily's liking. The room was full of light, with a small bed and a large writing desk with a built in bookshelf and bench. There was a large mirror and a small shelf next to it.

"This is very nice, thank you." Lily said, dropping the tiny handbag she had brought with her. It made a disproportionate thump as it landed on the bed. She ran downstairs to prepare lunch while Raven was showing Ciel and Sebastian their rooms. She oriented herself easily, and her new nearly photographic memory helped much when she memorized all her surroundings. She ran down into the kitchen, washed the dishes and made a three course meal faster than one could blink an eye. She grabbed Ciel and made him help her set the table.

Lily pulled on his collar as he made a move to sit down.

"You're a butler now, remember?" She hissed. "You have to remain standing."

"No, no, I want you to sit. All of you. This way it feels more like family." Raven said. _Poor girl… _Lily thought. _She's probably been lonely for so long now. I wonder how long it's been since she hasn't had a family? The Penbrooks… I remember that family name. Aunt Frances was a great friend of Amanda Penbrook. I'm guessing that was Raven's mother. They worked away from home almost all the time, and never got to see their daughter much. She's probably been lonely for much longer than two years._

They sat down.

"So what do you think of the manor?" Raven asked happily.

"I'm just a butler. I have no opinions." Sebastian said.

"You have opinions if I say you do. Now tell me, what do you think?"

"It's a very nice manor. It might actually be better than the manor I last served at." Lily and Raven laughed as Ciel glared at Sebastian, who smiled.

Pretty soon, they were assorted into their positions. Ciel was going to be Raven's main butler, Lily would be her advisor and maid, and Sebastian would be her tutor and cook.

"It's getting rather late, my lady. Perhaps it's time to sleep?" Lily asked as Raven yawned.

"Okay."

"It's going to be a very nice day tomorrow." Lily promised as she brushed Raven's hair. It was light as silk and shone as if it was polished.

"That sounds nice." She said.

"Raven is a rather unusual name, my lady. Is there any reason why your parents named you that?"

"Yes, actually. It's quite a strange story. On the day that I was born, a raven flew in and sat on the windowsill. It seemed very interested in what was going on. It came back every day until they had given me my name. My hair was always this color. In some of my early childhood pictures, you can still see that I have hair that's darker than black, as my mom used to say… if that's even possible. It was like a raven's wing, so my mom named me Raven."

"It suits you very well, my lady." Lily said as she braided it and tied it loosely with a ribbon.

"Hmm… you think?"

"I think so."

"You know, I've never had a real family. No one really treated me like I mattered."

"That's one of the reasons why you're here. If you want us to be like family, we will."

"That sounds great…" Raven yawned again as she crawled into her bed.

"Good night, my lady."

"Good night, Lily." Lily snapped her fingers and the candles blew out.

Lily walked outside. Though it was pretty far away, demons could have a perfect view of the holy bridge from here. Her eyes looked at the bridge. Something was off, however. It didn't shine like it usually did. Something was missing. Her eyes strained to see. There was a gap in between the two bridges. The angel was missing. Lily's heartbeat quickened. She looked around quickly. She'd left Raven alone. What if Ash tried to kill her?

_Sebastian. Get over here right now._

Sebastian was at her side in minutes.

"What's the matter?" He asked. She pointed to the bridge.

"The angel's missing."


	3. the dark necklace

Chapter 3: the dark necklace

"Good morning, my lady" Lily said as she opened the curtains and laid out breakfast on the tea table. "For today's breakfast, I've made French toast with fresh berries, a side dish of peppermint salad and an accompaniment of Cross superfine tea from Sweden." She said, trying her best to sound like Sebastian.

"Mmm… it's so good!" Raven said as she took a large bite of her French toast and took a sip of tea.

"I'm glad you like it."

Raven sat at her vanity table, her elbow propped on the table while Lily lightly curled her pretty black hair and pinned a few strands from the top to the back and secured them with a red grapefruit color bow.

"Hmm… I haven't worn anything but black in a while. What dress should I wear, Lily?"

"How about this one? The combination of red and pink would look great on you." Lily said, holding up a matching dress with white lace around the generously puffed sleeves and the square neck collar. Lily did up the back for Raven and got out matching shoes and white gloves, as gloves were now a necessity to hide the contract symbol on her hand. Raven stood up and did a twirl for fun, her thick heels clacking on the floor.

"How do I look?"

"Marvellous, my lady. Today we have a dancing lesson planned for you at noon, at four o'clock Sebastian will teach you how to play the piano and at six o' clock he will give you your lesson on politics in England."

"Remind me again why I have to know this?" Raven asked as they walked down the stairs.

"You're a lady. You have to know all this. Ciel went through the exact same thing."

"Ciel was nobility once?"

"His last name is Phantomhive. He was the last remaining descendent of the Phantomhive family."

"Oh wow… It surprises me at how much I don't know about him. I'll have to talk with him today" Raven said as she reached for pressed powder. Lily swatted it away.

"You can't wear that, my lady! It contains lead; it's harmful to your skin. It's lovely as it is."

"Oh okay…"

"What is it?"

"I wanted Ciel to think I was pretty."

"He does anyway." Lily said, not joking. She thought that the two of them might have an attraction together. Raven walked down the stairs, and Lily followed her. Sebastian and Ciel were already waiting.

"My lady, I heard those people mention of a cursed necklace yesterday…" Sebastian began.

"I really have no idea what it could be and where it could be." Raven frowned.

"May we have a look in the storage area?"

"Sure… I've never looked down there myself."

Pretty soon they were in the dark storage area of the manor, several feet below ground level. They began searching all around. The place was full of shelves. Those shelves were filled with things like tea leaves, old keepsakes, photos… and a dark necklace. Lily looked at it and took it down from the shelf.

It was a rather simple necklace, a small gold pendant in the shape of a star on a black chain. It looked simple, but it shone too much for it to be gold. Lily took off one of her gloves and touched the necklace.

"Ah, that explains it. It's demon gold." She said. "If humans wear demon gold, they go crazy. Only a select few can actually manifest the demon power in these gems. It looks like someone in your family might have been in contact with a demon." Lily told Raven, showing her the necklace. "Don't touch it at any cost."

"But what if I'm one of those people who can harness demon power?"

"That chance is one in every hundred thousand people. The risk is too high." Sebastian said.

"I think I'll wear it for now. It should cause less problems." Lily said, draping the chain around her neck. Raven nodded. Sebastian glanced at his pocket watch.

"It's nearly noon, Lily."

"Okay, let's get started on our dancing lesson!"

Ciel started to walk off in the other direction. Lily grabbed him by the back of the collar.

"Hey!"

"Where do you think you're going? Lady Raven needs a dancing partner." Lily said. Ciel sighed and allowed himself to be dragged upstairs.

Pretty soon, they were in the ballroom. Lily and Sebastian faced each other, and Raven and Ciel copied them.

"We're going to try a classical waltz today. It's one of the simplest ones there is." Lily said. "The beat is always in threes instead of four." She curtsied and Sebastian bowed. Ciel and Raven copied them. "Follow our lead. One, two three… one, two, three… one, two, three…" Lily's voice was as steady as a metronome as the four of them danced around.

Lily danced like a professional. _She's so pretty. _Raven thought. _Now look what's happened to me… I'm comparing myself to a demon to make myself seem prettier in Ciel's eyes. _She sighed and kept dancing.

"What's the matter, my lady?" Ciel asked.

"It's nothing"

"Then you should dance and be happy. After all, you have a beautiful smile. It would be a shame for the world not to see it." He said and smiled. Raven returned the smile. Ciel had gotten to be a much better dancer since he had become a demon, and he seemed to be enjoying himself. He would not allow himself to say he actually liked Raven. He still had feelings for Elizabeth, and he had no idea how Lily would feel if he said that he no longer liked Elizabeth, though it didn't matter as he would never see her again.

After serving lunch, they went to kill some of the members of the cult. It also served as training for Ciel. Like Lily, Ciel preferred to fight with a sword. Lily had acquired another jackknife from the kitchens, and turned it into another sword so she could fight with two. She also liked using guns.

"We'll let you do the work today, Ciel. Kill them." Ciel ran faster than the eye could see and slashed and hacked apart everything in sight. Pretty soon, there was not a breath of life in the room except for the four of them. Lily walked forwards and took something from one of the corpses. She held it up for them to see.

"It's a doomsday book. It's doubtful it's a real cinematic record, but it gives me suspicions. The grim reapers might get involved soon… as will the puppet master who is pulling these strings." She said. With a click of her fingers, the book was engulfed in flames. She and Sebastian exchanged looks. It was obvious that they were both thinking the same thing. They usually were thinking the same thing. The angel was back. With every angel reincarnation, they got stronger. She wasn't too worried, as their odds were now three on one, and she had been spending time training. Her power had been boosted by almost twice as much. She felt ready, but little did she know that it wasn't three on one, but three on two.


	4. island of death

Chapter 4: island of demons

Ciel walked into Raven's study. It was a nice and pleasant cream color with white leather seats. Raven spun around in her seat, her hands behind her head, the very representation of a carefree person. Her silvery blue eyes were glazed over, deep in thought. She looked at the three of them as they walked in. Ciel approached her desk.

"Here you are, my lady" Ciel passed Raven a stack of papers. She read them over.

"So these are the current killings made by that cult?" She asked.

"Yes. They've been quite active now." Raven looked over the pictures of the victims. They were all girls of about Raven's age group. Some of them even looked a little like Raven.

"One of the scariest differences… look at what they're wearing." Lily pointed at the pictures. Every girl was wearing a gold pendant with a star, like the demon gold necklace that Lily now wore.

"Why do they want the necklace so badly?" Raven wondered. "Maybe we should just give it to them. It will kill them anyway, right?"

"I'm not sure they will be the ones wearing it." Sebastian said.

"What do you mean?"

"Last year, we fought a maniacal angel. It was the one who set all of London on fire in an effort to 'purify' London." Sebastian said.

"It seemed to dwell on powers of darkness. If this necklace falls back into its hands, then we might have some more trouble than we did last time." Lily said.

"Didn't you win, though?" Raven asked.

"We did. Sadly, there's nothing that can permanently kill an angel except for an enchanted demon sword, which seals them in hell for eternity. Even then, it's only to be used for good reasons."

"Would your sword do the trick?" Raven asked Lily.

"Sadly no… It's not a sword of demons…" She looked up. She had just gotten an idea. "But I know where we can get one."

Minutes later, Sebastian and Lily were sailing for the ruined island of death, which Sebastian had recently wrecked. They had left Ciel to take care of Raven. They paddled slowly through the foggy darkness, the only light being given off by the moon and the stars, and the lone lantern they had hung on the pole of the boat.

"You know… this place would really have creeped me out had I still been human. It still does kinda creep me out."

"Yes" Sebastian agreed. "There's a different air to the island now."

"Maybe because you destroyed it?" Lily giggled.

"Maybe." They tied the boat to a nearby rock and walked onto the island of death. Sometimes rock avalanches would make them go the opposite way. The trees on the island were all felled.

"Has someone been here before us?

"I don't think so" Sebastian said. Finally, they got to the crack they wanted, and jumped down into the crevice. Lily dove down into the water to find the cursed sword still stuck firmly in the rock. She shifted her grip and tried to pull it out of the rocky cliff face. More water rushed in. She rolled her eyes and kept trying to pull the sword out. It was stuck firmly, and she couldn't light a fire underwater to burn the rock away.

She looked around.

Claude lay on the rock, head tilted to the side, eyes closed. The current had probably washed his glasses away. Hannah's body lay beside him, her silvery white hair floating everywhere. She was holding his hand loosely and had a smile on her face. She was also dead. It hurt Lily's heart to see them like this. She swam over to them, her sad emerald eyes gazing at Claude and Hannah. She saw his glasses on another ledge nearby. She swam over to get them, and put them back on his face. She sat beside them.

She moved over to the sword again. It seemed to shine as she approached it. The blank staring red eyes on the hilt of the sword blinked once, and the sword came out of the ground. She swam back to the surface and passed the sword up to Sebastian, who then helped her out of the water.

"It was still there?"

"Yes, but it was stuck pretty deep in the rock. That's why I took so long."

"Shall we get going, then?"

"Yes, let's."

They made their way back to the boat. Lily carefully placed the sword of demons into the boat, and then climbed in herself, and Sebastian followed. It was eerily silent as the boat cruised through the dark muddy waters. They were only about two miles away from the island when it erupted into flames. Lily jumped in the boat. She snapped her fingers and the fire slowly went out. It burst back into flames. She put it out a second time. It didn't light up again.

"What the hell was that?" She wondered.

"You really don't recognize those flames?" Sebastian asked. "It's another ifrit."


	5. there's someone at the door

Chapter 5: there's someone at the door…

For the next few days it was cold and stormy weather. Lily was rather thankful for this, as it would give her the opportunity to stay at home. Today all the servants had been given a day off. Lily was sitting in the library, waiting for Sebastian to come and take her to the demon world. It was only for a bit, and she wouldn't get to see any of it except for the demon library. They were looking up as many ifrits as they could to see if they could determine which one set fire to the island of demons. Sebastian came downstairs.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yes."

Sebastian took her hand.

"Don't let go no matter what, or I might lose you in the middle world." Lily had no idea what that meant but she nodded. A rush of wind passed through the room though there were no windows, and black feathers obscured Lily's vision. When they cleared, she was no longer standing in the library of Raven's mansion. She looked around. From what she could tell, it was dark. Torches burning with ifrit fire hung from the walls. She found that she was in her demon form. She made her wings disappear so they wouldn't set fire to anything

"Why is it so dark?" She asked Sebastian, who was also in his demon form.

"It's night here. It's completely opposite to England. When it's night there, the time is somewhere around noon here, and the other way around. Come this way. I think it should be over here." He led her over to another bookshelf. She picked a dusty book off the shelf.

"So this is the list of ifrits, greater demons and nobility?" She asked as she flipped through the pages. "I'm not on here."

"Of course not. You haven't been registered as a demon yet. They don't know of your existence yet."

"Here, take a look at this." She passed him the dusty black book.

"Is it an ifrit?"

"No, but it's something you might want to see." She gave him the book. "Ash Landers; greater demon number three hundred twenty nine." She tapped his picture. "And take a look at this. Angela Black: sister to Lady Andrea Black. She looks exactly like Angela Blanc. It shouldn't have been too hard to change Black to Blanc. It looks like she was nobility… so she already had a name? I don't understand…. if they were demons… how did they become angels… and how did they become one with each other?"

Sebastian carefully read the paragraphs.

"It looks like they both died… several hundred years ago."

"I thought there was nothing that could fatally wound a demon?"

"No there are things that can kill us permanently… though all the ways of doing so are very complicated and less than half of them can kill an ifrit. These two were shadow demons, however."

"I thought that their souls cease to exist after they die?"

"They should… I don't understand this any more than you do, Lily." Lily took the book from Sebastian and flipped it back to the ifrit section. She tapped his shoulder.

"'After the murders of seventeen ifrits, only three remain alive in the demon world today.'" She read aloud. "'Rumours and sightings of unfamiliar ifrit energy continue from the human world…' gosh, I feel famous… 'while notorious murderer Eric Mason has escaped from his prison and is now residing in the human world…?' Eric Mason… Who the hell was this guy?" She asked as she passed the book to Sebastian, who placed the book back on the shelf.

"This particular ifrit was responsible for several thousand killings in the human world, as well as the demon world. He was responsible for the murder of Lady Andrea. It seems that this ifrit has quite a lot of power. He can use spells as ancient as any besides fire… this makes him quite a challenge."

"You don't really think we're going to have to fight him?"

"It's possible he's the one who brought Ash and Angela back."

"Crap… so that makes two enemies…"

"Not quite… it seems he also has an accomplice. This one is a shadow demon, however. We have no idea who that accomplice is."

"That's even worse news. Three super powerful enemies? I'm sure I can expect one hell of a fight." Lily's burning red eyes grew colder and harder, the way they did when she was nervous. Her fiery black tail flicked back and forth.

"That's all the information we needed for now. Let's go back." Sebastian said. He took her hand carefully and they vanished and reappeared in Raven's manor. The rain was really pounding on the windows now. Lily still looked worried. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"I'm worried that when we go to fight that one of us won't make it. Who will protect Raven? There are three of them, and three of us, yet they have almost twice as much power as we do. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Don't worry too much. We'll find a way to make it. We're one hell of a family, after all." Sebastian said as he hugged her. She smiled.

"That's true." She looked up at him. He was still about a head taller than her, even when she was in high heels. Someone knocked faintly on the door. "Can you go check on Ciel and Raven? I'll go answer the door." Sebastian nodded and left.

"I can't imagine someone coming to our house in this downpour." She muttered to herself as she walked up the stairs to the front door. She looked through the spy hole, but she couldn't see anyone there. She opened the door and looked out into the rain. She looked down to see a cloaked figure slumped by the porch, a small pool of blood forming around their head. She took an automatic step back as she recognized the spiky white hair and the glazed, half open purple eyes.

"Ash?"

**Ooh… Wonder what's going to happen next? Do those three gain an unexpected ally? I myself can't wait until I update, but it might be a little bit. I might not be able to update until the beginning of January, but it won't be such a long time to wait, I promise~ ! ^^**


	6. a new ally

Chapter 6: A new ally

Lily stared at her old enemy. Somehow he looked different. She couldn't put her finger on it. Why did he look different? Besides the physical appearance, he looked weak; not just physically, but morally as well. His eyes came into focus and looked up at her.

"If you want to kill me, go ahead. But be quick about it." He said.

"Not until I know why you're here."

"Hmm… I'd think enough for an ifrit." He coughed and a bit of blood trickled out of his mouth.

"What happened to you?" Lily asked, still scared to go near Ash in case this was a trick.

"I got backstabbed." Ash closed his eyes and looked back up at her. "Tell me, Lily, do I look different to you?"

"Yes…"

"Please give me the chance to explain everything. I'm very sorry about all of this, about everything that's happened."

"Give you a chance?" Lily repeated. "You killed Catherine. You cut off Sebastian's arm. You locked him up and tortured him. You set all of London on fire and nearly killed everyone I care about."

"That wasn't me. Please, give me a chance to tell my story." He said. Lily had relayed all of the conversation to Sebastian.

_Give him another chance if you want to. I don't care. However, let him know that if he tries anything, or if this is a trick, you and I will kill him personally._ Sebastian said to Lily in response to what Ash said.

"Fine. I give you one chance. Don't mess it up, or I'll kill you." She said. She got down and helped Ash off the ground. Her manor had been finished two days ago. It should be vacant now. They walked through the rain until they got to her mansion. Ash fell onto the sofa. He really looked awful. There was a trickle of blood coming from his head, and the front of his white shirt was completely soaked through with blood. She carefully bandaged up his cuts and burned them to stop the bleeding. She had found one of her father's old shirts in the cellar room, the only part of the house that didn't burn and had given it to Ash. He sat up carefully.

"Thank you." He said. Lily's eyes made it clear that she still didn't trust him. "You can ask me anything you want, and I will reply truthfully."

"Earlier today, Sebastian and I went to the demon library…"

"You want to know why I'm in one of those books?"

"Yes" In response, Ash's eyes went from purple to the standard demon red color.

"I am no angel. I'm a demon, as you can see. I always was a demon."

"Then… what were the wings that we saw when we were fighting on the bridge?"

"That wasn't me. Do you know about a man named Eric Mason?"

"The ifrit responsible for the killings of a thousand humans?"

"And demons" Ash interjected quietly. "Angela and I were never the same person any more than we were ever angels. Her name wasn't Angela Blanc, it was Angela Black. About a hundred years ago, Angela lost her sister, Lady Andrea, who got murdered in a killing spree. I was Andrea's best friend at the time. Both of us were furious. We wanted to kill the person responsible. Then we met Eric. At the time, we didn't know he was a murderer. I only found out today, when he killed Angela right in front of me.

"The person you fought was a real angel. None of us know her real name. She was the accomplice who helped Eric escape from the demon prison a second time. She has a twin brother who looks exactly like her, except he's a demon. That's who you saw at the arch. There was a time when the two of them thought of betraying Eric. He punished them by forcing them to live in one body. We worked along with them, to help Eric rise to power. He convinced us that there wasn't a person who murdered Andrea. She had recently been on a trip to the human world and died a few days after she came back. He made us believe that it was the impurity of London that did it. He said that there was never a place as impure as London. It was so impure that it had even killed a demon, the pinnacle of impurity.

"So you know what happened next. We sided along with him; obsessed with purging London of the impure. We had no part in the killing of Catherine. The angel was the one who did it, posing as us. That was the first attempted purification of London. It didn't work out well. Both of us were like clones of each other. Angela was, in fact, a servant at Houndsworth. That was Angela they saw. You only ever saw me once before, Lily. That was when I came to deliver the letter at the Phantomhive manor. Any other time, it was the angel you saw. You know the rest. You killed that angel, and Eric brought them back."

"What about when Angela tried to rewrite Ciel's past?"

"Demons don't have that kind of ability." Ash replied. "We can't tamper with cinematic records any more than humans can. Believe me, Lily, I never lifted a finger to hurt you, Sebastian or lord Phantomhive. I knew they were planning to hurt you all, but at the time, I had no idea. Please forgive me, and allow me to fight with you."

"You want to fight with us?"

"You need all the help you can get. If you think that angel was powerful, she's not going to be more than a playground bully when you meet Eric. The older an ifrit gets, the more powerful they are. This man is almost as old as Sebastian; in other words about three thousand years old. Not only does he have fire control, he also has magic uses that we demons can never dream of holding. I can tell you everything you need to know to defeat him. I can tip the scales in your favour. I have my own score to settle with him. Could you please think about it and give Sebastian and Ciel a chance to think about it?"

"Fine. I'll see what I can do. But I still don't trust you."

"I don't expect you to trust me right away."

Lily stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and put her coat on.

"You stay here and heal. I'll come for you tomorrow with their answers."

"Lily" Ash called. She turned around. He had taken a thick, heavy book out of his cloak. He passed it to her. She opened it.

"This is…" She looked at Ash. "Where did you get this?"

"I managed to steal it. Use it, learn some of the spells and teach them to Sebastian and Ciel. I do believe there are some spells in there that even humans can use." He smiled.

"Thank you." Lily's expression softened slightly as she closed the door. The rain had slowed to a light drizzle. She walked quickly back to the manor, keeping the book tightly under her arm.

Once she had gotten back, Sebastian asked to see the book. He had already filled Ciel in on everything, and Ciel had told Raven that they might have a new ally soon. They weren't too happy with the idea of having Ash side with them, but it greatly improved their chances of winning. Sebastian flipped through the book.

"What Ash is saying does make sense. It does explain the differences in their auras each time we saw the real Ash and the angel. This book is the oldest book of shadows there is in the demon world. The last person to borrow it was Eric Mason, and he never returned it." He passed the book back to Lily. "It looks like our chances might not be so bad after all" She smiled.

"I'm sure we'll make it through anyway."

"The rain's stopped. Let's go outside. I haven't been out once today." Raven said.

"If you would like to, my lady" Ciel offered his hand and Raven took it happily. They both walked outside. Lily and Sebastian followed them, also hand in hand.

"Sometimes I wonder when this whole ordeal will be over." Lily said.

"Yes, it is taking a rather long time for all this mess to clear up. But, this isn't a bad way of life."

"It's actually rather nice at times." Lily agreed, looking at Ciel and Raven. He still hadn't admitted he had an attraction with Raven. Boys were just stupid like that. She laughed as she remembered that Sebastian had tried to avoid her for a month before he had finally given up and started to be around her more.

The last of the clouds cleared away as they walked through the city. Perhaps it wouldn't be the end after all…


	7. arguments

Chapter 7: arguments

The next morning, Lily, Raven, Ciel and Sebastian went to see Ash. He had completely healed overnight. Lily had brought the book of shadows so that Ash could help them.

"You're the only one here who's seen the book. Do you know how to use any of the spells here?"

"I think so." Ash set the book down on the coffee table. Lily also set the sword of demons onto the table. "Whoa… where did you get that?"

"Island of death… let's say it just happened to be there."

"How did it really get there?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Long story short, this demon named Claude kidnapped me and Ciel and he and Sebastian fought to the death with one sword of demons to see who would get Ciel's soul and who would get to keep me."

"It looks like no one got his soul." Ash remarked.

"That's true."

He kept on flipping through the book. It was strange to see Ash in a regular dress shirt and pants. All the times she saw him, though it actually had been someone else, he had been wearing a very fancy white butler outfit. His white hair was messy and slept on, his purple eyes thoughtful.

"There's this one. It's a caging spell. It won't work on Eric, but it will definitely work on the angel. You need some sort of demon gold though…"

"Perfect" Lily showed him her ring. "I have this on all the time."

"You'll have to break it."

"Oh, hell no! Never mind then…. let's try another spell." Ash smiled and moved on.

"This is a power transfer spell. Instead of transferring all of one's powers to another individual, their powers get cut in half and transferred to one another. We might have to pair up for that."

"There's four of us… who will protect Raven, then?"

"I will. I can give some of my powers to Ash. I barely know how to fight anyway. Teach me some defensive spells and I'll be good." Ciel said.

"It's settled then." Lily grabbed a feather and starred that particular spell. "I'll burn the ink away later before we return it. Oh, by the way. We know that there's one way to trap an angel permanently in hell, and it requires running them through with an enchanted demon sword. Do you know the spell to be able to enchant this?" She asked as she tapped the demon sword.

"Forgive me… I don't know much about that spell… except for the fact that the sword has to be enchanted by a human."

"Humans can't use spells." Sebastian pointed out.

"Humans without demon gold"

"But so few humans can actually wear demon gold without going insane and dying! Where are we going to find one?" Lily asked.

"Ahem" Raven piped up. Ciel glared at her.

"Don't you dare even go near the goddamn necklace. We're not testing it out on you and that's final."

"But it's my only chance to help you!" Raven said. Her anger made Ciel angry, and since he got angry pretty easily on his own, this was a bad idea.

"You shut up and stay home if you know what's best for you!" He yelled. Raven took a step back. She had never seen Ciel this angry, and she didn't like that it was at her. Her eyes tightened.

"I only wanted to help you because I didn't want you to get hurt. Fine, then… I don't care. Have fun dying when you fight. End our contract if you want." She said. "Do me a favour." She walked out of the house. It was deathly silent in the house.

"Well? Aren't you going to go after her?" Lily asked Ciel.

"No I'm not. She decided to do what she wanted." Ciel sat back down on the couch with a huff, arms and legs crossed.

"Are you insane? That's the soul we have to take!"

"You know perfectly well that I'm not going to take her soul!" Ciel yelled.

"Then why don't you do something about it?" Lily yelled back. She stood up, nearly overturning the coffee table. "You absolute coward! You have an attraction with a girl and you can't even tell her you like her? Snap out of it! She only wanted to help because she didn't want you to die. Do you know how much it hurts when someone you care about gets hurt? Especially when you can actually feel that person's pain. If you abandon Raven now, she's going to die."

"What are you, a fortune teller?"

"No, but I can tell when death is in the air. Someone is going to die soon, and I have a bad feeling it's going to be Raven if you don't do something now." Lily's anger had almost completely disappeared, but Ciel was still sullen and refused to budge an inch.

"Why don't you do something about it?"

"Because it's your duty." Lily said quietly. Those words rang a bell in Ciel's head. A memory flashed back into his head. The floodgate opening ceremony… That time when Elizabeth had almost drowned. _"Don't make me repeat myself. I'll go save her. It's my duty." _He remembered nearly dying trying to save her because it had been his responsibility. Because he cared about her. Because he loved Elizabeth at the time. He would never see Elizabeth again. He knew the day he saw Elizabeth after he became a demon that they weren't meant for each other, that they didn't have an attraction. Raven however… he felt a warm kindness towards her that he hadn't felt before. He had liked her the moment he saw her. Her beautiful silver blue eyes, her kind smile that was as rare and as beautiful as the hope diamond that had been in his family ring. Ciel stood up.

"I'll be back."

Lily watched him go with a smile. That idiot. At least he got his head back on his shoulders again. She hoped he'd go save her in time. It was his chance to make things right again.


	8. reconciliation

Chapter 8: reconciliation

Raven ran into the mansion and ran into her room. She fell down sideways onto her bed, feeling angry and helpless. Why did no one ever understand what she was feeling? Was it her fault? Was she the stupid one because she fell in love with a demon? Was there something wrong with her that she just couldn't see? She did want her soul taken by Ciel so that she could live happily inside him, or become a demon so she could live with him forever. She didn't want to go to heaven or say goodbye to Ciel. What would she do now that he was so angry with her? Would he end their contract? She hadn't meant it when she told him to break the contract. She would rather die than never see Ciel again.

A bright light shone from the window.

"You don't have to be sad." A voice said. Raven looked up as the window opened on its own. The angel was sitting on the windowsill, a sad and knowing smile on her face, her purple dress neatly folded, her wings still sticking out the window.

"An angel?" Raven stood up, straining to see the woman in the light she was giving off.

"You poor girl. You've been led on by those demons. The truth is that Ciel never loved you. Since he was human, his heart belonged to Lily's younger cousin Elizabeth."

"It did?" Raven asked.

"He's going to take your soul for nothing. He'll help you get your revenge, but that's it. Demons can't care about humans. They are disgusting impure soulless creatures who cannot love. You shouldn't have expected more. Your soul can't end here, Raven. You have such a beautiful soul, clean and pure as snow. Don't let it get stained by darkness and death and those demons.

"You want them to be your family, but the truth is they can never be your family. I can be, though. Let me send you on into heaven, with the soul they want to take so much. It won't hurt at all. You'll be with your real family, after all. Your parents can't wait to see you again. Don't separate yourself from them by allowing the contract to progress. Did you know you once had an older brother, Raven? He died two months before you were born. He really wants to see you. All of your family is in heaven. Don't be separated from them any longer, and come join them in endless happiness." Raven's blue eyes were wide and confused.

"I don't understand…"

"Your parents say they love you no matter what, but they don't want you down the wrong path. Your brother can't wait to see what you look like, the beauty of the sister he was supposed to have. Let your perfect family be reunited again." A small tear slid down Raven's cheek.

"I want to… but I can't die here. I have to help them win…"

"You don't have to. You don't have to do anything. A war between demons has nothing to do with the human world, and nothing to do with you. You can't help them anyway. You'll die if you put on demon gold, and you can't cast any spells without it. You can't do anything for them, and even if you do, they won't be able to give anything back to you."

The angel slid off the windowsill and walked towards Raven.

"Don't you want to see your family again? Don't you want to see your older brother?"

"Don't listen to her!" Ciel yelled as he burst into the room. He ran towards Raven. "Are you all right?" Raven nodded.

"You… how dare you interrupt the cleansing of a soul?"

"Cleanse her soul? The way you tried to cleanse mine when I was human? I don't think so. She belongs to me."

"Suit yourself, but both of you will die." The angel spread out her huge wings and several hundred razor sharp feathers fired themselves at Raven. Ciel jumped in front of her and several shot themselves into his chest. He kept his arms wide in front of her.

"This angel is working with Eric, the ifrit who wants to destroy all of us here."

"He lies! He's a demon! You can't trust him!" The angel cried, and fired more feathers. Ciel let more of them sink into his chest.

"To me, your life is worth a thousand of mine, my lady. I'll never take your soul. That's the truth. If you want, I'll be your servant for as long as you live and I'll do it gladly. I'll even make you a demon if you want, but I won't take your soul." Ciel said, ignoring the angel and ripping out some of the feathers. He sent them flying straight back towards the demon. Raven ducked under the bed and grabbed the gun. She pressed it into Ciel's hand. He fired several times. Only one hit the angel, in one of her pretty wings. He kept aiming for her wings. She backed up towards the window. This was his chance.

He moved faster than a blur and kicked the angel out the window. She fell down five stories and landed on the pavement with a crack. She glared at him, folded her wings into her dress and walked away, as she could not fly back up to the window, and she couldn't break in because there were people outside. Ciel watched as she walked away, his eyes glowing red.

"Serves her right." He turned back and saw Raven crying.

"I'm so sorry, Ciel." She said quietly.

"You have nothing to apologize for, my lady. Now stop crying. You're starting to make me sad." He wiped away one of her tears and smiled at her. She returned the smile, her eyes still slightly red.

"Raven… it's Raven, not 'my lady'. I still see you as an equal." She said.

"Very well. I care about you very much, Raven. Demons can love, actually. Lily was still human when Sebastian fell in love with her. He made her into a demon, and they are happy together. They were bonded since they first met. I think we are too."

"What about that Elizabeth girl?"

"Don't you mind about her. I loved Elizabeth as a human, and there is a part of me that will always care about her, but we weren't meant to be together. I saw her before I left to make a contract with you. We had nothing special. I will never see Elizabeth again. She'll probably think I'm dead soon, and its better off that way. She will spend her life happily with someone else. I would like to spend what's left of my life happily with you. I don't care about anyone else, and don't believe anyone who says otherwise." Ciel said, taking Raven's hands in his. "I'm sure we can find another way that you can help. I don't want you doing anything that will get you hurt."

"Sure."

"Shall we go back, now? The others are waiting for us."

"You're all bloody, though. It will scare people if you walk outside like that."

"I'm wearing all black anyway. It won't show." Ciel was wearing the same outfit that they left the Phantomhive manor in. Lily walked in, and noticed them holding hands. Lily laughed.

"Aw, how cute. Little lovebirds…" Ciel jumped away from Raven and blushed.

"We are not lovebirds!" He said angrily, his face almost completely red. Raven was laughing.

"Say what you want" Lily said as she smiled. She and Raven exchanged knowing smiles. "I still know everything. Now you two lovebirds better get going. Ash and Sebastian are wondering where you two went."

"We're not lovebirds!" Ciel yelled and raced after Lily, who ran out of the manor yelling; "Lovebirds, lovebirds!" She laughed. Raven followed them, laughing to herself. Lily stood on the fountain and stuck her tongue out at Ciel.

"I swear I'll make you fall in." He said angrily as she made a face. Sometimes Lily was just as much of a kid as they were. She certainly loved to make fun of people.

"It doesn't matter, I'll still be dry. Besides, this is just a maid's outfit. It's not like I'm wearing a ball gown." She said as she jumped down from the fountain and walked to stand beside Ciel. He aimed a kick at her, which she dodged. "Now go and stand beside lady Raven like a proper butler. You're not doing yourself much dignity."

"Fine." He went to stand beside Raven and they held hands while they walked back to Lily's manor.

"You still haven't told me if you want me to make you a demon." He said to Raven.

"I do want to be a demon, but not just yet. Let's wait until after all this is over."

"Fine by me."

He took one of the angel's feathers out of his pocket and ripped it savagely in half.

"I'll end it myself personally"


	9. declaration of war

Chapter 9: declaration of war

"Where did you three go?"

"You took way too long. Ash and I have already figured out a way to track Eric by his movements and predict where he's going to hit next."

"Okay, what's he up to?" Lily asked as the three of them sat down. Ciel was still blushing, of course. He couldn't look Lily in the face for hours. She just laughed at him. There wasn't enough space for the five of them because of the demon sword and all the stuff Ash had pulled out of the cellar that they might need. Lily just sat on Sebastian's lap.

"It's not good news. He's going to try a third purification of London, which is basically setting it all on fire again, completely. What I'm going to tell you is good news and bad news as well. He knows there's another ifrit somewhere in the city. He knows that his fire won't work if there's another ifrit, because you can put it out as easily as he can start it. So before he starts the purification, he's going to come looking for you to kill you. We can wait for him and we can prevent the chaos before it happens." Ash said.

"It sounds like a good idea. Why not wait for him at the holy gate? We can fight there like last time." Lily suggested.

"I don't like it." Sebastian said.

"Of course" Lily said under her breath.

"I don't want Lily to be put in danger. She's his target for the moment, so she's in the most danger."

"He's going to track Lily by her ifrit energy. There's no way around it." Ash countered. Sebastian sighed.

"I still don't like it."

"You never like it when I fight." Lily said.

"That's true. It goes against the grain for me."

"You're too protective. You're forgetting I'm almost twice as powerful as you."

"You still don't have enough fighting experience. You only became a demon less than a year ago, and I became a demon three thousand years ago."

This was as close as Lily and Sebastian ever got to an argument. They never argued or yelled at each other. It was just small disagreements and that was it, never more. They thought so much alike that they rarely disagreed.

"Okay, so what do you guys suggest our plan should be?"

"We don't want him to find us at the wrong time." Ash said. "I suggest we train in secret for a little bit. I hope you don't mind if I borrow Lily for a little bit. I'm just going to teach her basic spells so she can have a fighting chance against him. Your only chance to beat him is to use the element of surprise."

"That sounds good."

"Sebastian, train with Ciel and help him become a better fighter. I'll copy down the necessary spells for you two to learn. Raven can watch you two. I'll see if I can find an enchanted weapon its okay for her to use to protect herself."

For the next few weeks, all they did was train in the underground cellar of Lily's manor. They didn't go back to Raven's estate because the angel already knew where that was. According to the records, this house was still nonexistent because it had been fixed just a little while ago. They moved all the shelves to the corners of the walls and fought for hours on end. Lily and Ash trained outside for safety reasons in case she accidently set fire to something that wasn't supposed to be burned.

Raven held a ball at her manor. She wanted to hold a ball because it would be her last few weeks in the human world. She would then become a demon and go to the demon world and live as a family with Ciel, Sebastian and Lily. She still wanted some human experiences that she never had or will never have again.

It was the day before the supposed London purification. Everyone was at a loss because they had no idea how to enchant the demon sword.

"Well what the hell do we do then?" Lily asked in frustration. "We can't just go experimenting on every human we meet. Are you sure there isn't another way to enchant a demon sword?"

"That's the only way." Ash said.

"Well we're screwed, then!" Lily took her necklace off and threw it across the room. It bounced off the wall and landed neatly on a shelf in the corner. "That thing will just keep coming back unless we trap it with the sword!" She banged her fist on the table and a crack appeared in it.

"We'll think of something." Sebastian said, but he didn't sound so sure.

"Like what?" Lily bit her lip.

"I don't know" He admitted. Raven looked like she was about to say something, but Ciel glared at her and she looked down. He'd become really overprotective of Raven since the angel incident. Lily stopped and sniffed the air.

"It smells like something rotten."

"Yuck… I smell it too…" Ciel said.

"Shall I go up and check?" Sebastian asked.

"I'm coming with you." Lily said.

"Let's all go." Ash said. They all walked up the stairs. Raven however, stayed behind. She slowly walked towards the demon necklace that Lily had thrown. It seemed like it was beckoning her, telling her to wear it, or to even just touch it. She reached out her fingers and drew them back. She wondered what would happen if she touched it. She stretched out and touched it. The gold felt nice and smooth against her fingers. It felt fragile and hard as diamonds at the same time. Little sparks seemed to float under the surface of the gold. She didn't feel any different. It stung her hand. She dropped the necklace.

"Ouch!" Her hand seemed to shine for a second. The glow lit up her body and then went away. She knew it was safe to touch the necklace now. She put it around her neck and put it under her dress so they wouldn't see it. She then ran up with the rest to see what was going on.

"Don't look." Lily clapped her hand over Raven's eyes.

"What is it?"

"There's been a mass murder. It's like the Jack the Ripper incident… except all at once."

"What could have caused this?"

"I'm sure it's another spell. It's designed to make the victim's blood overheat, and their bodies explode."

"Ew. That's just gross." Lily said.

"I guess that's our declaration of war." Ash said. He closed the door and they walked back into the basement. Lily opened the trunk of machine guns and weapons she had managed to steal.

"So we enchant all of these?"

"Pretty much. I'll help." Together, Lily and Ash recreated all the weapons. For Sebastian, Lily had created throwing knives that would reappear in his pocket once they hit their target. They would also curve around and follow what they were supposed to hit. They had diamond cores and she made them impossible to melt. For Ciel, Ash had created a sword of demons would send shadow arcs towards his targets. Lily had her handy jackknife and two guns with endless bullets. Ash had recreated his favourite sword and added several features to it. It was now as sharp as the angel's sword, and could cut through any buildings with the slightest swing. He had also enchanted it to have the powers of light. It would suck in most of the light around them and spew it back at his enemies with triple the force.

Raven had taken only a hand gun, and she was sure she wouldn't need it. She would show them all. She had been training in secret, learning how to use spells. She had concentrated on ice and water spells, and the spell needed to enchant the demon sword.

No one knew that Lily had her own surprise up her sleeve as well.


	10. the fight

Chapter 10: the fight

They walked up onto the holy bridge. It was going to be their last fight. Raven's black hair was tied back in a ponytail and her silvery eyes surveyed everything with appraisal. Lily kept her hands in her pockets. Once she received the signal from Ash, she shot a column of fire into the sky. Ciel made Raven sit near a pile of boxes and sat beside her, his eyes wary. He kept on looking around, like something might snatch Raven from him out of the shadows. Pretty soon, a different presence could be felt. They heard a series of bangs as someone climbed the ladder up to the bridge. The man climbed onto the side and stood in front of them.

If anything, Lily was expecting Eric to look like a maniacal genius. It surprised her. He looked like a regular, well paid young professor. He had blonde hair that was spiky and sometimes fell into his cold blue eyes. He had his hands in his pant pockets and looked like any regular guy you'd find on the street.

"Hmm… I certainly wasn't expecting this. I didn't think you'd actually send up a message for me to come here. I assume you're ready to fight." He said and smiled, his eyes looking at all of them. So this was the ifrit he was hunting for. She certainly didn't look like an ifrit. Her red brown hair was long and was tied in a loose braid that fell down to her knees. Her eyes were a beautiful dark green color, like emeralds. She wasn't registered in the book of ifrits. She had most likely only been made a few months ago. She wore a plain maid's outfit and in her hand she held a simple jackknife. "Ash… I see you've gone over to their side. I hope you don't regret your decision?"

"Not at all"

"Very well then… It will be your last decision" He said. The angel flew up to stand beside him.

"Sebastian, Ciel, you two take the angel. Ash and I will fight Eric." Lily barked as Eric and the angel flew up into the air. Sebastian grabbed the sword of demons and jumped, as did Ciel. Lily and Ash ran towards Eric. He sent Lily and Ash flying effortlessly without using any flames.

"It would be a shame to kill you, ifrit girl." He said. "You look like someone with a nice life ahead of them. Why don't you leave?"

"This is my duty."

"It doesn't scare you in the least that I have ten times more power than you?"

"Not at all" Lily replied, grinning. "You don't know what tricks I have up my sleeves."

"It will take more than tricks to beat me."

"Will it really?" Lily asked as she dodged the dragon made of fire that came her way. She countered it with a chaining spell that made dark chains come up out of the ground and chained Eric to the spot. He burned them away with a click of his fingers.

"You are not outnumbered, but hopelessly outmatched." He said as a column of fire circled around Ash. Lily pulled him out of the fire circle. "Arylle has gotten ten times stronger than since she last fought you. Even if you do manage to beat her, she'll just come back to life. That sword isn't enchanted. No one here can enchant that sword to kill her. Why don't you give up? I don't want to take your life?"

"You don't want to take my life, but you willingly took the lives of thousands of humans and demons? What makes me so different from them?"

"Hmm… there's the fact that you are so new to this life, and haven't gotten a chance to experience life. There's also the fact that you are more pure than all the impure demons I killed. You are an ifrit. Your fire burns away the darkness in your soul."

"What about the darkness in your soul? I don't think there's anything that can burn away that."

Eric smiled. "What you say is true. I've gone too far to turn back, and since I've chosen my path, I will keep going."

Lily pushed her hands forward and a wall of flames hurtled itself at Eric. He made the water rise out of the river below them and made the flames disappear.

Raven sat in the back, watching the fight. She carefully watched every water spell that Eric invoked. She thought it would be easy to copy. She stood up carefully. Lily created a tornado out of fire by spinning several times and hurtled it towards Eric. Nothing she did had made a single scratch on him so far. Only her speed kept her unhurt. Sebastian and Ciel weren't doing too well either. She felt his pain as a razor sharp feather grazed his arm. She easily dodged every sword stroke as Sebastian lunged with the demon sword.

"Sebastian, this is an order!" Raven yelled. "Give me the demon sword!" Sebastian stared at her like she'd gone insane. He gave it to her carefully and it floated into her hands. She ran forwards.

"What are you doing, Raven?" Ciel yelled.

"I'm helping." She said as she took the dark necklace and put it around her neck. She threw the demon sword in the air. The angel saw it and tried to grab it, but it flew away from her. She raised her hands and yelled something in a different language. The sword gleamed with a bright red light. Bright red spirals now traced themselves around the demon sword. It fell back into Raven's hand. She raised one hand and the river erupted around them. The water solidified to make soldiers of ice. They walked with earth shuddering crashes towards the angel. She ran up with the demon sword and began to attack the angel. The ice soldiers surrounded them. The angel panicked and took to the air to escape.

"I thought you'd do that" Ciel said. He clicked his fingers and the invisible net he had made fell down on the angel. It brought her down. As she struggled, Raven ran forwards, jumped up and ran her through with the sword. The angel screamed as the red light encased her. She disappeared in a cloud of feathers.

"NO!" Eric yelled. He turned on Lily and Ash, his eyes crazed with anger. He ran straight towards Lily, a dark sword materializing in his hands. It glowed with fire. "You killed her! You'll pay for that!"

"Lily, look out!" Sebastian yelled. She made no move to defend herself, but stood there smiling as he ran towards her. He ran her straight through with the sword. It was all silent. Lily looked at the sword through her and began to laugh. Sebastian felt no pain for some reason, though it was Lily that he had run through with the sword. Eric let go of the demon sword and took a few steps back.

"No… no way…" He said; his eyes wide as he backed up.

"You lose, Eric" She said happily. "I'll show you a trick you've never seen before."


	11. kuro no tenshi

Chapter 11: kuro no tenshi

Lily's laughter echoed strangely around them, though there was nothing where the sound could be projected off of. Her body began to glow with a bright white light until all they could see was a shining circle of pure light that made the sky around the bridge look as bright as day. Eric made a new demon sword and he held it as if it was a grenade.

"Let's have a formal dual between ifrits, Eric. Normally I would never dream of asking something like that, because you would kill me in a split second. However, I do believe now the circumstances have changed." Lily's voice came from inside the light.

"I don't believe it." Ash said, his eyes full of wonder.

"_Kuro no tenshi…" _Eric spit. "A black angel. I should have known"

"What is a black angel?" Ciel wondered.

"Ifrits are very special beings" Sebastian explained. "They can only be created by birth or from the result of an attraction without a contract. Ifrits are born with huge power. Any ifrit is automatically considered nobility in the demon world based on power. For every hundred ifrits created, one of them will be born with the power of a black angel. A black angel is half angel, half demon, and with the powers of both, as well as the ifrit powers they already possessed. The only way of activating that power is by receiving a normally fatal blow from another ifrit. It seems that Lily might have turned the tables for us." Sebastian said as the light died down.

Lily looked the same and yet so different at the same time. She wore a uniform of some sort consisting of high white leather boots with black heels, white shorts and a white top with a black insignia on the front that looked like two crescent moons on either side of a line with two horizontal lines running through the middle, the demon symbol of death. She had a long white open coat with long sleeves, the hem and the rims of the sleeves were black. She had real wings now, not the outline of fiery wings she used to fly with as a regular ifrit. They were as big as the angel's wings, and jet black. On the bottom row of feathers, on each feather was a single, unblinking red eye. Her eyes were flat black, the iris and pupil looked exactly the same.

She held the demon sword in her hand and threw it into the air. It disappeared with a pop. She drew a circle in the air with her hand, and a ring of fire followed. The fire was pure black instead of regular red, orange and blue. She lifted her hand and the ring flew high above them. They were surrounded in a mirror like area.

"The human world will not be affected from the power we will give off. We can fight easily now. You four stay back and watch. Don't try to interfere. I can't guarantee you won't die otherwise." Lily said before turning her attention to Eric. "Shall we get started?"

"Yes, let's. After I finish you off, I'll continue with my purification of the world, and make the new world entirely ruled by demons."

"I won't let that happen." Lily said. She blocked his sword with her hand. It didn't even cut through her hand. She kicked the sword out of his hand and flipped backwards as he materialized a chainsaw.

"Hey, don't steal my amazing weapon idea!" Grell yelled as he jumped down and cut Eric's chainsaw in half.

"Damn grim reaper"

"Grell!" Lily yelled.

"Hello darling. I've come to help you." He said, brandishing his chainsaw.

"You're in the way" Eric said and threw a thousand flame daggers at Grell. He barely managed to dodge them all.

"It's so rude to aim for a lady's face!" Grell said, outraged. Eric raised an eyebrow. He threw a demon sword at Grell. The air in front of Grell solidified and the sword sunk into it like it was iron. It hovered inches from Grell's head. He jumped back.

"Whoa… that was close…" He readjusted his red glasses. He glared at Eric. "Your taste is absolutely awful."

Lily had an idea.

_Sebastian, get everyone to surround Eric. Make them leave all their weapons. They don't need them. I think we have enough people now._

_What are you planning, Lily?_

_I'll show you. Just do what I say!_

_Of course_. He repeated this idea to everyone and they ran until they were in a circle around Eric.

"What are you planning now?" He asked, slightly amused. He clicked his fingers and a ring of fire moved to break them up, but Lily countered it.

"Everyone, summon all your powers! Use all of them! Every bit that you have!"

"It won't work!" Eric yelled and turned into his demon form. He was every bit as scary as Lily in her demon form, perhaps even scarier. He was made entirely out of shadows, with a burning aura around him, and pure red eyes without any iris or pupil.

"Hold your ground!" Lily yelled. "Everyone use all the strength you have!" They all closed their eyes. Sebastian's aura began to send poisonous green smoke into the sky, Ciel's smoke was purple and black. Ash's aura glowed white, Grell's glowed red, and Raven's glowed blue. The eyes in Lily's wings blinked once, and the auras slowly got sucked into the eyes. She now had all their powers. Eric, realizing what was going to happen, flung all his powers at Lily, but she flew out of the way. He made wings of fire appear and shot into the sky after her.

Lily stretched out her hands. She needed a direct hit or else all their efforts would be wasted. Raven shot a spear made of water at him to try to distract him but he burned it up. She was weak because Lily had sucked all the power from her demon necklace. She flitted this way and that, avoiding Eric's beams of fire that he sent at her.

Sebastian seemed to understand what she wanted to do. He grabbed Ash's sword from the ground and jumped up behind Eric. Lily could do nothing but watch, it was that fast. He attempted to stab Eric in the back, but Eric easily whirled around and slashed a deep gash in Sebastian's chest with the demon sword.

"No, Sebastian!" Lily screamed as he fell. However, Sebastian had given Lily what she had needed. It was a chance to fire and hit. "How dare you… how dare you hurt him?" Her eyes were pure red like Eric's. Her entire form glowed with fire, darkness and light at the same time. She screamed, it was more like a war cry than a scream, and the entire mass of energy darted towards Eric with the speed of light. Even as it pierced him, the arc of massive energy could still be seen. Even as he began to fall, Eric's body was disintegrating and returning to his human form. His blue eyes were wide.

"Impossible…" He choked out before his eyes closed and he vanished.

Lily jumped down to the ground and returned each of the powers to their respective owners. She knelt down beside Sebastian.

"You jerk, what were you thinking?" She asked.

"I was thinking how to win." He said, and smiled. "Help me up, will you?" She took his hand and helped him sit up.

"Oh, Sebas-chan, you're hurt so much." Grell said, panicking and walking around him.

"I'll be fine." Lily took a look at his cut.

"You do realize that if he hadn't missed, you'd be dead?" She asked. "It was this close to your heart." She showed him with her fingers.

"Well, I'm not dead, so it doesn't matter, does it?"

"I guess it doesn't." Lily pronounced a healing spell she had learned and the line scarred over and stopped bleeding. He stood up and hugged Lily.

"See, we made it perfectly fine."

"I'm so happy we did." Lily let out a sigh of relief. "So what now?" She wondered. "All our enemies are defeated. Eric was the one who made the cult, as was the angel. They'll never bother us again."

"Now, we need to go to the demon world. We need to register you and Ciel, and we need to make Raven into a demon."

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Ciel asked Raven.

"You're the only part of my life that matters to me. The only way you can stay a part of my life is if I become a demon. So I don't care."

Ciel took her hand and took off the glove to expose his mark on her hand. The mark on his eye glowed, as did the mark on her hand.

"It will hurt a little bit. Only a little" He said as he touched her forehead. Raven gasped and fell onto her knees, her head in her hands. Ciel knelt down beside her. When she opened her eyes again, they were a pure red color.

"I don't understand…" Lily said. "Why was her transformation so quick? Mine took two days"

"We didn't have a contract" Sebastian explained. "Since they have a contract together, the demon can turn the human into another demon instantly."

"Well that was boring." Grell said. "Lily's transformation was much more exciting. All the red fire…"

"Ciel's was even more boring than Raven's. He was unconscious." Lily said. She looked at Sebastian happily. "And now, both of us can finally fulfill our contracts." She said, adjusting her ring.

"I can hardly wait." He smiled. "Shall we get going?"

"Sure… Let's go to the demon world."


	12. the demon world

Chapter 12: The demon world

"All right. I guess that's my cue to leave. We'll see each other again, Sebas-chan!" Grell said as he hopped over the water and out of sight.

"He was a weird one." Raven said. Lily burst out laughing. Even Ciel laughed slightly.

"I'll leave as well. I don't think I'm welcome in the demon world after what I've done. I wish you all the best." Ash said.

"We'll see each other again, Ash. I hope you find an attraction so you can come into the demon world and see us again. Take care" She said.

"It was a pleasure having you fight with us." Sebastian said. Ciel merely nodded.

"Bye, Ash" Raven said. Ash smiled and jumped off the bridge and out of sight. All four of them stepped into a circle and held hands.

"Don't let go until we're there." He said. A cloud of white and black feathers surrounded them and blocked their vision. Once they cleared, Lily took a look around.

"Oh wow!" Raven said, her eyes lighting up.

"It's not bad." Ciel said.

Those two were in their demon forms. Raven's was elegant. She didn't look at all different than when she was in her human form. She wore a short black dress with very long and billowy sleeves that were halfway see through, and black gloves and black boots. She had black shadowy tattoos beside her eyes that made them look like the cat eye look that so many women favored in England. Lily folded in her black wings and they disappeared into her coat. Ciel's was rather interesting. He too, was dressed in all black with triangular shadows across his cheekbones like Sebastian's. The four of them walked down the street.

"This is where demons live? I thought it would be creepier." Raven said.

"This is the only part of hell that looks like this. Everywhere else in this dimension probably looks more like the way you imagine it." Sebastian said.

It looked like a regular London complex with rows of mansions on every street. At the end of the road gleamed a black castle that looked like it was made of enormous chess pieces. The grass here was black, and the sun never shone. It was always cloudy, but it still looked pretty.

"Hmm… It's very nice." Lily said, hanging onto Sebastian's arm.

"There's a row of manors not far from here that are uninhabited. We could look at those to see which ones we want." He suggested.

"That sounds nice. Do they all look as nice on the inside as they do on the outside?"

"Even better" Sebastian said.

"Well then, I can hardly wait." Lily and Raven were all smiles. Sebastian and Ciel were also smiling. "You know… I've been thinking. Why not go back to the human world and live like a regular married couple for a little while? I'd love to try. We could move into the outskirts of London. No one would know us. We could easily pretend to be an Earl and Countess who were out travelling and just came back."

"It sounds like a nice idea. However, I've been in the human world for too long. I'd like to try living here first." Sebastian said.

"Sure, if you want." The possibilities were endless now that they were almost free. They needed the demon queen to break Ciel and Sebastian's contract, as well as Ciel and Raven's contract. They made their way up onto the cobblestone pathway to the black castle. Two demons in black, red and gold uniforms were waiting for them.

"Ssss… what isss your duty?" One asked. He had the tongue of a snake and the tail of a snake. Sebastian had told Lily that the less human a demon looked, the less powerful it was. The demon king and queen looked exactly like humans. Except for her wings and eyes, Lily looked exactly like a human.

"We request an audience with her majesty." Sebastian said.

"Your namesss?"

"I am Sebastian Michaelis. These three need to be registered, as well as two contracts that need to be broken." The snake guy looked at Lily.

"Isss that an ifrit I ssseee?"

"Yes, now we need to see the queen." Lily said.

"Pleassse come in… I will inform her majessssty of your arrival." He motioned to his silent friend and they pushed some keys on the door and it opened soundlessly. The waiting room was huge. Lily had the impression that if she knocked out all the walls and floors in her home, that room would still not be as big as this palace. Two large obsidian and demon gold thrones stood in front of them on a mounted staircase.

"It certainly is grand." Raven said, looking around.

After a little while, a feminine voice echoed through the throne room.

"I apologize for making you all wait." A woman materialized in the throne on the left. She was fantastically beautiful, and yet looked exactly like a normal human being. She had thick luscious dark red hair and brown eyes. She wore a billowy black ball gown with matching black gloves and a necklace and crown made of demon gold. Sebastian instantly knelt down. Lily, Ciel and Raven followed his lead. "Rise, my friends." She said. "I see three unfamiliar demons before me. You all may come closer."

They walked closer to the throne.

"I see we've finally found our first black angel." The demon queen mused. "Step forwards." Lily walked forwards.

"You were created because of an attraction?" She asked.

"Yes, your highness"

"With the black haired man over there?"

"Yes"

"What's your full name, child?" She asked. Lily didn't like being called 'child'. She was twenty one years old.

"Lilyanne Alyssa Cordelia Blackwell-Middleford." She replied.

"It sounds like a fitting name for a princess."

"My lady?" She looked up at the queen.

"My husband's powers, as well as my own are slowly starting to vanish. We have no children to take the throne after us. There will come a time when, very soon, we will no longer be able to rule the underworld. There will be people more powerful than us. We always thought that an ifrit would probably take the throne after us. You seem very trustworthy. You remind me a little bit of myself. I see kindness in your eyes, Lilyanne. I also see the ability to give good orders, and reluctance to follow orders. You have the qualities of a good leader. Do not prove me wrong."

"Yes, my lady"

"I expect you at the palace soon. We'll get to know each other a little. You'll become royalty, along with your fiancée, very soon." She said, looking at Lily's ring. "I expect you'll make a good princess." A thick, heavy brown book that was leather bound hovered in the air beside the demon queen. It opened with a flick of her fingers and turned to a page.

"Do you want to keep your name as Lilyanne Blackwell-Middleford?" The queen asked. "Because you are a demon, you can pick a new name for yourself."

"Yes, I'd like to keep my name."

"Step forwards" She said to Sebastian. He walked to stand beside Lily.

"Your current name?"

"Sebastian Michaelis."

"That is the name your master gave you?"

"Yes"

"Do you wish to keep that name?"

"Yes"

The queen clicked her fingers and a feather pen appeared and wrote Sebastian's name onto one of the sheets.

"In that case, Lilyanne, your name must be changed as well. It will no longer be Lilyanne Blackwell-Middleford, but Lilyanne Michaelis." Lily smiled.

"That works nicely" She said as the feather pen scribbled in her name beside Sebastian's. She noted that the place where she put their names was blank except for two names.

"You two, step forwards." She said to Ciel and Raven. They walked forwards. "My… I've never seen younger demons than you two." She said, resting her chin on her hand. Her fingernails were long and painted red. Ciel bristled. Lily glared at him so that he wouldn't say anything. "Your name?" She asked Ciel.

"Ciel Vincent Phantomhive."

"You wish to keep your name?"

"Yes."

"You look like a pretty, young demon. What's your name?" She asked Raven.

"Raven Elisa Penbrook."

"Very well then…. You will become Raven Phantomhive." The pen scribbled their names down and the book closed. "Well all of that is settled now. Sebastian and Ciel, will both of you come up here?" They took a few steps forward. The queen laughed. "You need to come closer than that. I'm not going to bite" They walked closer to her until they were directly in front of her throne.

"Sebastian Michaelis, Ciel Phantomhive, I release you two of your contract. You are no longer bound together." She said. The mark on Sebastian's hand glowed, as did the mark on Ciel's eye. The mark on his eye disappeared and was placed onto his hand.

"Sebastian, you may join Lily. Raven, come up here." Raven came to stand beside Ciel.

"Ciel Phantomhive, Raven Penbrook, I release you two of your contract. You are no longer bound together by the Faustian contract, but are now bound by life. You may go back. Sebastian and Lily, I need you two up here."

Ciel and Raven walked down the stairs while Sebastian and Lily came up the stairs. The queen snapped her fingers again and the air shimmered.

"You two are going to be the future rulers of the demon world. That gives you a lot of responsibilities. You can, however, choose to decline the throne. You aren't pressured to accept it. There are several others who are waiting to get the throne… though I'm not sure they will be as good as you two."

Sebastian and Lily looked at each other.

"We'll accept." They said in unison. The queen smiled as she raised her hand. They were both jolted back into their human forms.

"You no longer need your demon forms. All your power is in your human forms. You two will stay the way you are now forever." A silver circlet formed on Lily's head. It was like a thin headband that sparkled and shined in the light. Little diamonds were placed in the circlet so skillfully that it looked that the entire thing was made of one huge diamond, smooth as a mirror yet shining and bright. The Phantomhive badge that Sebastian always wore was replaced by a gold one with a single ruby on it and the demon royalty symbol carved on it.

"I'm sure you two will do this place much good."


	13. one hundred years later

Chapter 13: one hundred years later

The little girl ran around the palace, spinning around on the black and white checkered ballroom floor, laughing. She stood on the stone pillars and jumped off with a light flip. She looked about eight years old. She wore a cute black hoopskirt dress with a black headband adorned with cute little skulls with matching earrings and thick heeled black shoes. Her dull red eyes were enormous and sparkled with the lights coming off the huge chandeliers.

"Catherine, how many times do I have to tell you to keep off the pillars?"

"Sorry, mommy" The little girl said. Lily walked down the stairs. She looked about twenty six now, though she could assume any appearance she liked. She liked to look older than twenty because it gave her more authority. She wore a delicately woven crown made of demon gold and black diamonds. Her long red hair was up and curled and her green eyes gave off a luminous shine. She wore a red dress encrusted with black jewels that shimmered like the night sky whenever she moved. It was tight down to her knees and flared out near her heels. She wore black gloves and an open jacket made of clear silky fabric that was tinted black. Her daughter ran into her arms. Since Lily had become the demon queen, her demon symbol had disappeared from her hand completely, and her fingernails had turned back to their normal human color. She still had all her ifrit powers, something she really liked.

Catherine had inherited Sebastian's eyes and pale skin, but she had inherited Lily's auburn hair, delicate features and heart shaped face. Lily thought she looked more like Sebastian, but Sebastian thought she looked more like Lily. Catherine had also inherited Lily's ifrit power. Thankfully it wasn't too strong. She never managed to set fire to anything big.

"Where's dad?" She asked.

"He had to go do some work outside of town."

"Will he be back soon?"

Lily closed her eyes and smiled.

"He's on his way home now."

"Yay! He promised he would play with me!"

"Raven is going to come over today. She's bringing Rachel and Andrew."

"Yay! I'm gonna get to see Andrew!" Catherine said, spinning around. Lily and Raven had decided that Catherine and Andrew would get married when they were older. It was an arranged marriage, but they liked each other so much Lily didn't think they'd mind so much.

The door opened and Sebastian walked in, looking very tired. His hair was all ruffled.

"daddy!" Catherine ran towards Sebastian. Sebastian ruffled her hair absentmindedly.

"Welcome home." Lily said. "Busy day?" She asked. He nodded.

"There was a bunch of rebels down in the southern area. A few hell prisoners escaped from their torture cells."

"Well, we certainly can't have that. It's too bad if they want to escape. They've done their bad things; they need to pay off their debts." Lily straightened Sebastian's tie. "Don't forget we have a ball this evening, and Ciel and Raven are coming at four."

"That doesn't sound like such a bad schedule. We don't have any hearings to go to today?"

"Thankfully, no." She said. "That's the worst part of this job." He took her hand as well as Catherine's and they walked into the dining room. Lily's favorite servant, Ally, was already in the kitchen making them dinner. Lily snapped her fingers and the huge leather bound book the queen had used a hundred years before her hovered in front of her. She opened the book.

"Aww… take a look at this." She said, smiling. "Ash Landers and Serena Landers. That's adorable. It looks like he's finally found his match."

"Shall we invite him over sometime?"

"That sounds good."

"He's already invited us" Sebastian said, fishing a black and gold invitation out of his pocket.

"They're getting married too?" Lily asked as she flipped open the invitation and read it. "Wow… you'd think one hundred years was such a short time…" A quiet knock on the door made her look up. "If you'll excuse me for a minute, darling. I do believe our guests are here."

She walked out of the hallway, with Catherine trailing behind her. The doors swung open. A small family stood there. Lily and Raven hugged each other, and then she hugged Ciel. The twins were talking with Catherine excitedly.

"How have you two been."

"Fine…" Ciel said. Both he and Raven looked about twenty one years old. Young and handsome, Ciel would have been the heartbreak of the human world had he been alive. He still had that brooding expression on his face and he had his arms crossed the way he did when he was still a child. Rachel and Andrew looked nothing like each other though they were twins. Rachel looked exactly like Ciel, with blue black hair and shining demon red eyes that looked exactly like Ciel's. Andrew had hair like Ciel's mother's and he had Raven's eye structure. Those two were smiling so widely they looked goofy.

Sebastian walked to stand beside Lily.

"It's so nice you could make it." He said. "Please come inside."

They sat down at the huge dining table while Ally served them soul meals. Lily had barely managed to make Catherine sit down and eat something. With several choruses of "I'm not hungry!" She finally sat down grouchily at the table, ate a few bites of her food and ran back to play with Andrew and Rachel. If one didn't know this was a family of demons, one would think they were the perfect family, talking and laughing.

Ally burst into the room.

"My lord, my lady, we have some problems." She said. Lily stood up.

"What is it?"

"Several more have escaped, and they're almost at the middle world!"

"Hmm… that's not good at all. Escaped convicts brought back to life and roaming about the human world would not do us any good. It would damage our reputation. Shall we leave?"

"Might as well." Ciel said. The four of them got up from the table.

"Ally, can you watch the children? We'll be back soon."

The four of them held hands and closed their eyes as black and white feathers swirled around them. Far below them, they could see the fugitive escapees, tortured souls with cruel scars across their faces and black prison clothing that had been subjected to everything from getting run over by cars to boiled in acid. However, it was justice. If one did horrible things in their lives as a human, they would have to pay off their crimes in hell until they were pure enough to go to heaven. Those who committed murder would have to spend all of eternity paying for their crimes. Lily didn't like to oversee these things, so she sent her lieutenants to do things like that.

"My, my… it looks like the fugitives have managed to get this far…" Lily said.

"It's quite an achievement." Sebastian said as they looked around, trying to find the source of their voices.

"We really should strengthen our armies." Lily said as they materialized before them. They took a few steps back.

"Shit… the demon king and demon queen…"

Lily smiled.

"Did you really think you could escape your punishment?" She asked as she fashioned a black staff out of nowhere. She grabbed it and arcs of black fire travelled up and down the staff. "Do you really believe that after your crimes, we would allow you to ever leave?"

"What's the problem with murdering someone?" One of the men yelled. "If a human kills a rabbit, it doesn't send them in hell, does it?"

"A rabbit provides food for them. If its murder of a lesser being and it's done to survive, it is not counted as a crime, as it happens all the time in nature. However, you do not see an eagle hunting another eagle, a fish eating a fish of its own species. That is the same with humans taking the lives of other humans." Sebastian said.

"It's against the laws of nature to kill something that has the same level conscience as you. That's what constitutes murder. You did not kill those people because you had no choice. It's your disgusting impurity that got you landed here, and will keep you here for eternity until your soul disintegrates completely. Pay for your heinous crimes and feel remorse. It is the only way we might consider letting you free." Lily said. She pointed the staff towards them, and they shrieked as the black fire enveloped them and traveled away like a huge cloud. It would eventually bring them back to their prison.

"What a waste of time." Ciel said.

"Eh… just another one of those times. Remember the prisoner who tried to bribe a demon into helping them?" Lily asked.

"That was very annoying." Sebastian said with a smile. "I do believe they are no longer existent in the category of those to be punished."

"You destroyed their souls? It serves them right."

"I warned you that ruling an entire world comes with its responsibilities and dirty jobs." Sebastian said.

"Yes, but I don't regret choosing this way of life. It's actually a very nice way to spend our lives."

"I agree."

Lily thought back on her life from that point. In exactly a year, she had gone from an orphaned girl who had to become a countess at seventeen to having a new family, a husband and a daughter, and being the demon queen as well as the black angel, the most powerful demon of all time. She had been given so much in her life, so many adventures and gifts, and there were only more to come.

THE END

**As much as it pains me to say, this is the end of the cruel beauty series. I really do hope you all enjoyed my short story series, and I hope you all stick around to read more of my other series. I'm starting a new black butler oc very soon, perhaps even today. Please look forwards to reading it. We'll have a new couple very soon, and an entirely new realm of possibilities in front of us! **


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